Kim Jong-un's reportedly hand-selected musical girl group is set to give "friendship performances" in Beijing as a tribute to the alliance between North Korea and China.
CNN reported that the gesture comes ahead of an important meeting of the U.N. Security Council, which will discuss North Korea's atrocities and human rights abuses perpetrated by the government on its own people.
The U.N. may refer dictator Kim Jong-un to the International Criminal Court, but he likely hopes that China will use its veto powers to stop that from happening.
The Moranbong Band itself,
according to the BBC, is known for "energetic, almost Western-style performances. Songs include typical North Korea propaganda items such as 'We Think of the Marshall (Mr Kim) Day' and 'Night and My Country is the Best!' but also more surprising Western-inspired numbers, including the theme from 'Rocky.'"
In recent years, China has not been happy with North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
Along with South Korea and Japan, China has committed publicly to the de-nuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula.
Relations between China and the hermit nation seem to have been thawing in recent years, with Liu Yunshan, the fifth-highest-ranking official in the Chinese Communist Party, making a visit this past fall. China also announced a $156 million border trade zone with North Korea, expanding the critical trade lifeline it offers the small country.
Lee Jung-hoon, Professor of International Relations at South Korea's Yonsei University, said that China uses a "carrot and stick approach" with North Korea.
"The Chinese are very pragmatic, they weigh the cost of keeping North Korea within their patronage. Apparently so far China seems to think the benefit outweighs the cost," Lee said.
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